Louis Digiaimo

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I will say one thing about Bob Giraldi -- he knows how to capture the chaos and motion of a busy restaurant. For that reason, Dinner Rush, which is set at Giraldi's very own TriBeCa eatery, is wonderful. Pasta twirls poetically in pans, waiters and waitresses bolt toward one another like runaway trains, and the kitchen rattles with activity and the clanging of plates. He gets us caught in the atmosphere.

However, despite the effort Giraldi puts in, the movie comes up short. You keep waiting for that one scene or piece of dialogue that will get things going, and it never comes. We get an appetizer, but the main course never arrives.

Well, someone had to wrest the monopoly on gangster movies from the hands of Scorsese and Coppola. So why not Mike Newell, of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, to direct it? And why not put Johnny Depp in a starring role? And Anne Heche -- you know, Ellen's girlfriend -- as his wife!? It sounds bizarre, but put this group together with Monster of Acting Pacino and Quiz Show scribe Paul Attanasio and you've got a pleasant surprise on your hands, not to mention one of the longest-running films at the box office this year. Long stuck in development because of GoodFellas, Donnie Brasco is in many ways a similar film, and in most of them better. The true story of FBI agent Joe Pistone, who in the late 70s infiltrated his way into the New York mafia to become a "made man" under the name of Donnie Brasco, Depp is surprisingly believable as an earnest father caught up in the mob mentality. Pacino shines as always, though it's not his usual character; here he's a tragic King Lear who just can't catch a break. But as for the iffy pan-and-scan job on the videotape, take a cue from the wiseguys: Fuggedaboudit.

The story behind An Everlasting Piece is more interesting than anything in the movie itself. The Irish screenwriter and star of the movie, Barry McEvoy, came up with the idea -- about two Irish barbers creating a toupee coup in Northern Ireland -- from his own experiences. According to the press notes, McEvoy grew up as the son of a barber who did his own stint as a hairpiece salesman, and McEvoy's character, Colm, is loosely based on his father, who told his son stories of his adventures selling wigs to both Catholics and Protestants, despite the tensions that almost made his own hair fall out.

An Everlasting Piece just feels good. It isn't a great movie; there is no deep, satisfying reward for watching it. But the characters, dialogue, and story form a charismatic relationship with the audience. This is certainly not Barry Levinson's best work to date. He does, however, direct McEvoy's script with the right attitude. Levinson doesn't take the circumstances too seriously -- these are hairpiece salesman after all -- but he doesn't go over the top in a quirky comic tone either. There aren't any corny bald jokes: The movie is smart enough not to waste it's time with lame humor about hair thinning.